Announced But Never Played — Page 3

Kelsey Grammer was supposed to play Albin after 6 months as Georges in the La Cage revival...

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Lucie Arnaz in the Wonderful Town tour which also got canceled.

http://www.broadway.com/buzz/93484/lucie-arnaz-to-star-in-wonderful-town-tour/

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Frank Wildhorn's "Havana" was announced to play B'way in 2000-2001 (Never did), and then again at the Pasadena Playhouse in the summer of 2010. Playhouse went bankrupt before it could happen.

Who knows if we will ever see it.

This season or last season, there was a show announced for the Circle in the Square. The name escapes me, but it was a play with music/musical revival. I think it was country-based?

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Capn, I think you're thinking of PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES!

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/174876-Pump-Boys-and-Dinettes-Will-Not-Fill-Er-Up-on-Broadway-This-Season

The John Guare re-boot of BRIGADOON.

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People announced but never played their role due to their part being written out:

Lorna Luft - was to have played the title character's best friend in "Lolita, My Love" circa 1971.

Allyn Ann McLerie - was to have played a Ziegfeld girl in FUNNY GIRL (she's in a rehearsal picture in the wonderful book, "Hello, Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand". Much like the film version whereas Ann Francis' character Georgia was highly edited out, it seemed audiences were much more interested in just seeing Barbra. Maybe they can write the character back in to give us a break from Lea Michele if she ever does the revival.

Anita Gillette - written out of THE GAY LIFE.

Ella Logan - At the time it never was clear to me whether she left or was fired out of town from the musical KELLY. Might have been a mutual decision.

Jean Fenn - written out of SAIL AWAY when in previews in Philadelphia, Noel Coward decided on merging Fenn's role with that of Elaine Stritch's part. Critics have suggested that it was Fenn's too polished quality that prevented her from having that star making quality. Noël Coward said of her during rehearsals, "She is cursed with refinement and does everything ‘beautifully. Oh dear, I long for her to pick her nose or fart and before I’m through with her, she’ll do both." I wonder if he kept his word before firing her?

As far as being announced...and then there was Angela Lansbury playing Norma Desmond in the proposed Stephen Sondheim musical version of SUNSET BLVD. I'd once read that Lansbury agreed to do the SWEENEY TODD tour in return for playing Norma. I guess MURDER SHE WROTE most likely put a nix on it. Pity if true.

Finally Bernadette Peters as SUGAR! And what a great Sugar Kane she would have been with costars Robert Morse and Larry Kert. She was announced to play the part in the Los Angeles Music Center's production in the seventies but declined at the last moment. Why? She was offered "Mack and Mabel". Instead audiences got to see Leland Palmer.

Hilary Swank in The Miracle Worker.

Edie Falco in Threepenny Opera. (Replaced by Cyndi Lauper.)

"I'd once read that Lansbury agreed to do the SWEENEY TODD tour in return for playing Norma. I guess MURDER SHE WROTE most likely put a nix on it. Pity if true."

I had always heard that Sondheim scrapped the idea when he began to work on it and realized that he couldn't find a way to make the subject matter sing, so to speak.

Sondheim spoke to Billy Wilder at a party who said "It's not a musical, it's an opera. It's about a fallen queen, after all." which caused Sondheim to rethink the whole project.

Wasn't there talk of the Roundabout production of Pajama Game reopening for a commercial run?

Wasn't Judy Kuhn announced to take over the lead in WOMAN IN WHITE? I'm pretty sure it closed before she came in.

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